blossom
/ˈblɑ.səm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.62 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A flower, especially one indicating that a fruit tree is fruiting; (collectively) a mass of such flowers.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A blooming period or stage of development; something lovely that gives rich promise.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The blossom has come early this year."
- "And on the moꝛowe / Moſes went in to the tabernacle: and beholde / the rod of Aaron of the houſſe of Leui was budded ⁊ bare bloſomes and almondes."
- "Foppiſh and fantaſtick Ornaments are only Indications of Vice, not criminal in themſelves. Extinguiſh Vanity in the Mind, and you naturally retrench the little Superfluities of Garniture and Equipage. The Bloſſoms will fall of themſelves, when the Root that nouriſhes them is deſtroyed."
- "Winter, spring, and summer, passed away during my labours; but I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves—sights which before always yielded me supreme delight, so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation."
- "The orchard is in blossom."
- "Down by the River Wye, among plum-trees in blossom, Noel had laid her baby in a hammock, and stood reading a letter: […]"
Etymology
From Middle English blosme, from Old English blostm, blostma, from Proto-Germanic *blōstmô (compare West Frisian blossem, Dutch bloesem; related to *blōstaz [compare German Blust]), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-s- (“bloom, flower”), from *bʰleh₃- (“to bloom, to thrive”). Cognate with Albanian bleron (“to blossom, to thrive”), Latin flōs (“flower”), Flōra (“goddess of plants”). See more at blow (etymology 4).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: blosme, blostm, *blōstmô, *bʰleh₃-s-, *bʰleh₃-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈblɑ.səm/
- British English: /ˈblɒs.əm/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
apple blossom
apple blossom weevil
blossom-end rot
blossom-faced
blossom-headed
blossom-nosed
blossom out
blossom-rock